Popularity of Spanish Study Rises; Indicates New Latin America Interest

The number of students enrolled in Harvard's elementary Spanish language courses has almost doubled over last year's total, Hugh H. Montero, the University's Spanish language coordinator, said yesterday.

The addition of two sections to Spanish A, bringing up to nine the number of Spanish sections, has made possible the enrollment of 170 students, Montero said. Last year only 88 students studied elementary Spanish.

In addition, the number of students attending Humanities 55, "The Literature of the Spanish-Speaking Nations," has increased by almost 50 per cent, according to the course's instructor, Juan Marichal, professor of Romance Languages and Literatures.

Montero attributed the spurt in enrollment to an increasing interest in Third World nations, particularly those in Latin America. "Everybody wants to go to Latin America," he said.

Another reason for heightened interest in Spanish, Montero said, is that many people at Harvard come from New York, Miami, California and Texas, where Spanish is becoming increasingly important as a second language.

Marichal said the rise in enrollment stems partly from a change in attitude toward the United States' southern neighbors. Americans feel an "increasing solidarity" with Latin America, he said.

The professor also said, "Students see they can do interesting things intellectually in Spanish." Whereas students interested in literature once studied French or German, Marichal said, "The universality of Spanish creations has become more visible."

Other universities in the area are also experiencing higher enrollments in Spanish language courses, Montero said. Both MIT and Boston University have called him in the past weeks about obtaining additional instructors for their language departments, he said.